Thursday, March 12, 2009

Syracuse Outlasts UConn in 6 OT Big East Classic

Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orangemen and Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies staged one for the ages late-night at the Garden with the longest game in Big East history and the second longest game in college basketball history.

The upset-minded Orangemen stayed right with highly-regarded #4 UConn every step of the way, leading through most of the first half, but trailing by as many as 6 points in the second in the nightcap of a wild Big East quarterfinal day at Madison Square Garden.

After a frenetic first 32 minutes, Kristof Ongenaet tied the score with a pair of free throws at 51-all and Andy Rautins gave the Orangemen the lead with a 3-pointer with under 8 minutes left to play. Craig Austrie quickly retied the game with a three of his own, but then Eric Devendorf answered with a trey for Syracuse.

After Jeff Adrian hit a two-point bucket, Syraucse point guard Jonny Flynn hit a driving layup, was fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to put Syracuse up 60-56 with 6:35 to play.

The Huskies had their chances, but Stanley Robinson missed 2 free throws and Haseem Thabeet converted only one of two and missed the front end of a one-and one as time wound under 5 minutes to play. The Orange took a five-point lead on Eric Devendorf's jumper, 62-57 and when Jonny Flynn fed Arinze Onuaku under the rim the Orange had a 7-point bulge with under 4 to go.

UConn responded with a 7-0 run, punctuated by Stanley Robinson's lay-in at 2:25 which tied the game at 64-all.

Arinze Onuaku, one of the worst free throw shooters in the nation at just 30%, made two clutch foul shots with under 2:00 to give the Orange a 2-point edge. Jonny Flynn added a pair, but UConn's Craig Austrie hit a big 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1, with 1:08 to play.

Devendorf was fouled and hit a pair to give Syracuse a 70-67 lead at 0:49. Thabeet cut it to one again with 31 second left.

Ongenaet gave the Orangemen a 2-point edge with 27 seconds left when he made one of two from the line. Kemba Walker scored a tip-in with 1.1 left to tie it at 71-71. Eric Devendorf's 23-foot bomb at the end of regulation was disallowed by the referees after a video review and the two teams headed to overtime.

Stanley Robinson, who hit only one 3-pointer all season, hit his second with 1:37 left in OT to give UConn a 80-76 lead. Rautins responded with a lazar 3-pointer to cut the advantage to 1 point at 1:17. The Huskies missed on their next possession and Syracuse had an opportunity to take the lead with 36 seconds to go, but Rautins missed a three and the Orange fouled Stanley Robinson at 0:15. Robinson hit one of two.

Flynn fed Rick Jackson for a dunk with 8 seconds left and UConn was unable to convert, sending the game to a second OT at 81-all.

With 1:58 to go in the second OT, UConn led by three, 86-83, but Jonny Flynn drove to the hoop, scored and was fouled, and made the free throw to tie the game.

Onuaku then fouled Thabeet on battle for a rebound off a missed Husky shot at 1:18, but Thabeet hit just one of two. At 0:57 Autrie fouled Devendorf, Syracuse's best foul shooter, but he made only one of two for the tie.

UConn could not convert a number of tip-ins on their next possession, and Syracuse has a chance to win it, but could not convert as time ran down sending the game to a third overtime at 87-87.

Syracuse entered the third OT with both of their big men, Onuaku and Ongenaet on the bench, having fouled out. The Huskies took advantage, scoring the first six points of the period. Rautins and Paul Harris each canned a pair of free throws to draw within two at 93-91, but A.J. Price's pair got the Huskies back up by 4. Jeff Adrian's jam at 1:58 pushed it back to a six point edge. Syracuse scored four straight to get back to within two at 97-95 with under a minute to play.

The Orange had opportunities after two missed Husky shots, but UConn controlled the offensive boards both times forcing Devendorf to foul A.J. Price with 21 seconds to go. Price hit just one of two for a three-point bulge. Andy Rautins lined up a three with 11 seconds to play and canned it to tie the game and force a 4th OT at 98-all.

Rick Jackson, Syracuse's 3rd forward, fouled out in the first minute of the 4th OT, but the Orange got a break when the 7'3" Thabeet fouled out just seconds later. Neither team could gain an advantage, as they traded misses and baskets, eventually getting to 104-all with 0:38 left, but neither team could covert: 5th OT.

A.J. Price scored the only points in the first 3 minutes of the first overtime on a 17-foot jumper and two free throws to give UConn a 4-point lead at 108-104. Devendorf fouled out with 2:01 remaining.

Jonny Flynn scored a layup at 1:55, and, after a UConn miss, Syracuse had another chance to tie with 1:30 to go. Flynn drove to the hoop and drew the foul, stepped to the line and hit both with 58 seconds left.

Scotty Haralson hit a bucket with 35 second left, but Flynn canned another pair with 20 seconds left. UConn could not score on their final possession forcing the 6th overtime.

Rautins gave the Orangemen their first lead after regulation with a 3-ball to open the 6th OT. After a travel by A.J. Price, Paul Harris finally got a layup to go down for a 5-point SU lead. Fatigue took its toll on the Huskies, as they missed badly on their first six shots in the 6th extra session.

Paul Harris made another layup with 2:36 left, was fouled and hit the free throw for a 118-110 lead. Syracuse led by 10, at 122-112 with 1:38 to play and held on for the win as both teams played sloppily the rest of the way.

Syracuse never led in any of the overtime periods except the last. Jonny Flynn scored 34 points, handed out 11 assists, was a perfect 16 of 16 from the foul line and played a Syracuse, Big East and probably a college basketball record 67 minutes. Paul Harris missed at least 6 layups in the last 3 OTs but still finished with 26 points and 22 rebounds. Devendorf had 22 points and Rautins scored 20. The game lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes, beginning just at 9:36 pm and ending at 1:22 am ET.

A.J. Price led the Huskies with a career-high 33 points before fouling out with 2:58 left in the 3rd OT. Four different Huskies had had 10 or more rebounds, led by Jeff Adrien's 16.

The game was the second longest in NCAA history, falling just one overtime short of the Dec. 21, 1981, 75-73 Cincinnati win over Bradley.

It was the sixth straight win for the Orangemen, who advance to the semifinals Friday to face West Virginia, a team they beat at home, 74-61, in the regular season. The Orangemen remained perfect in overtime games, at 4-0 this season.

After the long night (and early morning) Syracuse catches somewhat of a break, getting West Virginia at 9:30 pm tomorrow night. The Mountaineers upset Pitt earlier in the game.